truerecs
Explore truerecs
Log inFor artists
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Les Paul.Are you Les Paul? Claim this page
l
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Les Paul. Every item links to its public source.
15 items · Last checked

What guitar does Les Paul play?

Les Paul said he started on a Sears guitar and a Dobro, then played a Gibson L-5, built his Log at the Epiphone factory in 1941 and recorded his hits on a modified Epiphone he called the clunker. He was later seen with Gibson Les Pauls and a GA-40 amp.

Shop the gear
AllTop 5Early guitarsSolidbody experimentsGibson Les PaulsAmps and recording
Top 5

Where to start with Les Paul's gear.

01
02
03
04
05

What guitars Les Paul uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Early guitars

4 items

Solidbody experiments

3 items

Gibson Les Pauls

7 items

Amps and recording

1 item
Questions

About Les Paul's gear.

What was Les Paul's Log?

A 4x4 piece of wood with a pickup and a neck that he built at the Epiphone factory in New York in 1941. He later added the sides of an Epiphone body so it would look like a guitar, and used it for years to pitch a solidbody guitar to Gibson.

What guitar did Les Paul play on How High the Moon?

His number one clunker, a modified Epiphone archtop. He said he had three of them and recorded How High the Moon and Bye Bye Blues on it, later putting a Gibson logo on it.

What was Les Paul's first good guitar?

After a Sears guitar and a Dobro, he said he went to Gibson's factory in Kalamazoo and picked out a Gibson L-5.

What guitars are at the Les Paul Recording Studio?

Guitar World reports his later Number 1 Les Paul, a 1941 Epiphone Zephyr, a Les Paul Jumbo acoustic with a low-impedance pickup, Signature and Recording models, a Goldtop and his Monster recording console.

LP
Les Paul
About this guide · Last checked

Les Paul (1915 to 2009) was the guitarist behind How High the Moon with Mary Ford, a pioneer of the solidbody electric guitar and of multitrack recording, and the namesake of Gibson's Les Paul. This legacy guide covers the guitars and amps he played, from his own account to Vintage Guitar and the gear kept at the Les Paul Recording Studio.

truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Les Paul didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

Report an error or ask for removal. We fix or remove within 72 hours. You don't need to sign up.

Are you Les Paul?

Claim this page to make it yours: verify with your Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, keep what's right, drop what isn't, and add your own.

Claim this page
truerecs gear guides are independent research from public sources, not made or approved by the artist. Store buttons on this page may be affiliate links: truerecs may earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Les Paul isn't paid for them. Report an error or ask for removal. Full disclosure.